Translation Please
by Mnemosyne1211
Summary: Dean has no problems dealing with busty Asian beauties online. It's in real life that he can't seem to deal.
1. Chapter 1

"Run!"

They didn't have to be told twice. Heavy and accelerated footfalls plant the pavement. The Winchester did as they were told, by whom, they'd figure out later.

"Duck!" A woman's voice gruffly commanded and the boys did. They both felt a strong gust of wind brush their backsides as they belly flopped on the concrete. Dean rolled over on his back and took a blind shot at what just rushed past them. Another pair of boot clad feet rushed to where the boys were, letting out a string of probable profanities in another language.

"I didn't say shoot" She angrily said.

"Sorry I broke the chain of command General Xena. I was more concerned about saving our asses!" Dean shot back

"Dean…It's coming back!" Sam was already on his feet and running. The two angry individuals followed suit.

"That's why you shouldn't shoot at it, gago" The petite woman screamed as she ran.

Whatever it was, it was loud, angry, nasty and fast. It let out an ear piercing howl and dive bombed at them. Sam, being the tallest, was placed at a misfortunate disadvantage. As soon as the creature gained speed, it went directly at him, easily lifting him up in the air.

"Sam!" Dean cocked his shotgun at the black winged creature. Almost immediately, a small brown hand stopped him.

"You'll hurt him."

"That's exactly what I want to do!"

"You want to hurt Sam?"

"No! I want to hurt it, not him!"

"Then get ready to catch."

She took a thin foot long tube from her thigh holster, put it in her mouth, gracefully took aim and blew. It took about 10 seconds before they heard a pained unholy scream followed by a "Holy shit!" Dean scrambled to get Sam but it was too late. Sam fell feet first and audibly broke a foot, or an ankle or both.

"Dean!" Sam screamed. Next thing they heard were gun shots. The petite brown girl stood about a meter from them, her black Glock still aimed at the dark sky and smoking.

"That should keep you out of commission for a few days. Then I'll find you, puta ka." She put the gun back in its holster on her side and walked over to the brothers. "You need a hospital for your foot. Did she scratch or bite you?"

"No bites but she got my arms." Sam showed his pierced jacket.

"Shit!" Dean exclaimed his frustration. He pulled Sam to his feet and slung his brother's weight on his shoulders. "Thanks Xena, for getting my brother hurt. Bang up job there."

She said nothing but her glare spoke volumes. "You got transportation? He can't walk."

"No shit, Sherlock" Dean grunted.

"Follow me" She turned on her heel.

"No thanks, sister. You already got us in enough trouble." Dean said through gritted teeth.

She spun around so quick that the air around them vibrated. Dean and Sam were shocked when she put a black knife on the hollow of Dean's throat.

"Let's get one thing clear here, pretty boy. **You** got **yourselves **in trouble. I am trying to help you out of the kindness of my heart because I actually feel sorry for your apparent ignorance on what that creature is. You don't get to blame me for wanting to shoot at it but couldn't. I've had a bad day, which thanks to your gung-ho macho tarantadong display of testosterone, will be a bad month" She inched closer; Dean was seething but was already planning an escape, Sam's foot be damned and all. "Your…Sam needs a hospital, somewhere where you don't have to lie about how you managed to get your injuries. He needs anointed bayabas for his puncture wounds because antiseptic and antibiotics just won't do it. My brother is a doctor and he knows about hunters. So, stop being an ass and follow me." She pulls the knife away from Dean and slides it back to its proper place in a holster somewhere in her body. How that small body keeps so many weapons was a mystery in itself.

Dean follows a few steps behind her, albeit reluctantly. "Put that knife on me again and I'll kill you."

"I expect nothing less…" She said nonchalantly "…from a kupal like you."

"Dude, what's a kupal?" Dean whispers at Sam

"Something not good, I'm assuming." Sam hissed.

"Hey Xena! Our car's parked over here." Dean hollered but she continued walking and disappeared behind an alley. "Huh. Good riddance." The brothers continued to walk towards the Impala, slowly though due to Sam's injury.

A low and loud rumble filled the air. From the alley came a bright red Ducati heading for them.

"Couldn't find your horse?" Dean smirked.

She lifted the black tinted wind guard of her helmet. "I'm sorry. I can't hear you from the noise." Then she purposely revved up her motorcycle. "Want to hurry it up, Ladies?"

"I'm going to kill her Sam. I'm seriously going to kill her after her brother fixes you up and after we kill that thing." All he got was a wince and a pained sharp intake of air from his brother.

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**Translations**

**Gago – Stupid**

**Tarantado – fairly insane idiot; tarantadong (adj.) pertaining to a fairly insane and idiotic action **

**Bayabas – Guava. Filipinos have long used guava leaves, bark and fruit for any kind of wound. In yesteryears (and even in the provinces today), circumcisions were performed by the town healer. It usually involves a wooden plank that the doctor and the boy uses as a bench, a big ass knife or jungle bolo (what we call an itak) and guava leaves. The "doctor" asks the boy to chew on the leaves while he "performs" the action. The doctor will give one and only one statement "Chew on this. When I chop, you spit the leaves on it." I know…the ick factor is just impalpable. Plus, it kinda is barbaric – but I shit you not, it's true.**

**Kupal – One of my favorite cuss words. Kupal is actually the smelly accumulation of everything disgusting from the penis folds of an uncircumcised man, it is acquired if the man is less than hygienic.**


	2. Chapter 2

(All recognizable characters are owned by WB, Eric Kripke and Supernatural. I do not wish to make money off them; I just want to feed my fantasies. )

2

They followed her to a hospital, aptly named _Perpetual Help General_. She parked her bike and walked over to the impala's driver side. "Stay here. I'll come back for you" She didn't wait for a response and left as quickly as she came. She stealthily slipped into the building through a back door.

"You okay, Sammy?"

"All things considering…" Sam grunted

"What was that thing?"

"Not sure, but it smelled like coconut."

Dean raised his eyebrow "You sure you didn't hit your head?"

"It did! It was like sulfur mixed with coconut. I already know the smell of sulfer so that other smell stood out."

"Let's go." Both men jumped at the sound of a woman's voice.

"Jesus! Can you not do that?!" Dean was adding 'sneaking up on us' to the list of reasons why he had to kill this bitch.

She opened the passenger side door and readied herself to put Sam's weight on her. Dean was at their side in two shakes. "I got him." He said and quite roughly pushed her aside. She moved and didn't say anything.

"Fine. Follow me."

"You get your freak on by being so controlling? You might want to try S&M instead."

She ignored the comment and continued to walk to the door, opening it for the brothers once she got there. She let them in and swiftly moved in front of them. She checked the hallway and gestured with her hand for the boys to follow her. Once inside a private examination room, Dean settled Sam on the bed.

"Wait here." She gestured with one finger held up. As soon as she left the room, Dean let loose some pretty colorful language. "Wait here. Follow me. Me bitch." Dean said in a high pitched voice. Sam let out a snort laugh.

She came back with a doctor hot on her heels. They were talking in another language but from the physical cues and intonation, they were arguing. The doctor rolled his eyes and transferred his focus on Sam.

"Hi! I'm Dr. Galliguez. You're safe here. I need to check your foot and see the extent of injuries you've gotten, okay?"

Sam extended his hand. "I'm Sam and that's my brother Dean. Thanks for doing this Dr. Galliguez. We appreciate it"

"Think of it as a thank you for watching out for my sister and as an apology for her less than friendly attitude." The doctor was trying to extract the younger man's boot. He then reached for the scissors from the metal tray.

"I was fine, Kuya. These kamotes were the ones who almost got killed." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. She looked more like a petulant child now than a warrior princess.

"Yeah, but Xena here was the one who got my brother's foot broken." Dean piped in. He wouldn't leave Sam's side and was still cautious about the two Asians in the room.

"Yeah, but kupal here was the one who wanted to shoot at the manananggal with his brother in the air with it." She shot back.

"Yeah, but Xena here put a knife to my throat!"

"Yeah, but kupal here…"

"Enough!" The doctor's voice broke the 'yeah, but' war. "Urduja, stay outside, go home, do whatever but please get out of this room." The doctor turns to Dean "I need to take your brother in for an x-ray and I have to clean his puncture wounds. You can stay here and wait for him but he'll be out for the night. I'm putting him on Vicodin and Xanax just for tonight. As a doctor, I'd have to ask you to leave and go back to your place. As a brother, I know you'd want to stay."

Urduja looked livid and went out the room but not without slamming the door.

"You sure you're related to her, doc?"

The doctor laughed. "Dave, call me Dave. And yes, she is my sister – my baby sister. Not to justify her attitude, she's really a sweetheart once you get to know her."

"Ha. No offense but I don't think I would want to stick around long enough to do that."

"Well, your brother isn't going anywhere for a while. Plus, that manananggal is still out there." Dave the doctor gave a sideways glance at Dean. It wasn't lost on Dean. He holds out an open hand.

"One problem at a time, doc. Little bro first and then your little problem later."

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**Translations**

**Kuya - Title of respect given to older brothers. Filipino tradition and social norms dictate that younger siblings must address their older siblings with a Kuya (older brother) or Ate (older sister). We usually get smacked in the butt if and when we don't give proper props to our Kuyas and Ates**

**Kamote – a root crop, more known in the western world as sweet potato or yam. Considered the lowest of all root crops, to be called a kamote means you're lower than low in the whole scheme of living things.**

**Manananggal – A Filipino mythological creature that is badass. I cant' reveal too much because it's part of the story. :P**


	3. Chapter 3

Sam was x-rayed, cleaned up, casted, doped up and tucked in – all in that order. Dean plopped down on the large chair beside the bed. He was just about to fall asleep when the door opens and Urduja steps in. Dean pretends to be asleep, just to see what she would do.

In her right hand was a small brown bottle and in the other, a small brown package. She takes her coat off and Dean sees her toned arms, decorated with some symbols unknown to him. She sits on the bed, right next to Sam and pulls the table near her. She makes the sign of the cross and whispers a prayer he couldn't understand. She opens the bottle and the smell of coconut fills the room.

Dean panics and immediately stands up, points his gun at her. "What the fuck are you doing?"

She doesn't look at him and continues to smear the leaves with oil.

"It's anointed bayabas leaves. Sanctified coconut oil makes the healing go faster."

"Oh yeah? Well Sam told me he smelled coconut from that thing. How do I know you aren't trying to turn him or something?"

She looks at him, deadpan and cool. "You don't and I won't. I'm trying to help him. I'm unarmed Dean. You can shoot me right here, right now or you can let me do my job and help him. My brother did his part. Let me do mine." She sounded tired and soft. Both of them looked at each other for a full minute, not moving, each adamant in what they believed in. Finally, she dropped her arms to her side and walked towards Dean. She turned her back and stepped backwards until the back of her head met the business end of his gun.

"There. You keep that there while I do what I do. If at anytime your instinct tells you that I'm doing something I'm not supposed to, you have my permission to shoot." She turned her head to see Dean's stern but confused look. "I'm walking back to Sam's side. I suggest you keep that gun there." She took one tentative step, waiting for the older Winchester to follow. He didn't disappoint and kept the gun on her head.

She sat back down on the bed and lifted the sleeve of Sam's hospital gown. She then placed the anointed leaves on the puncture wounds and said a little prayer. She covered them up with gauze and tape and pulled the sleeve back down.

"It will take one night to see the results. You sure you can last that long with that thing on my head?"

"Sweetheart, I was built for all nighters."

"Well, I'm tired. So, I hope you won't mind if I sit on the couch. You can keep that thing on my head while I'm there."

"You betcha, Xena." He smirked.

"Urduja. Call me Xena one more time and you'll be on a bed beside your brother."

"Whatever." Dean scoffed.

Somewhere between O'dark thirty and fucking ungodly hour, Dean wakes Urduja. He kicked her boots, a little harder than what he'd usually do to a girl. "Wake up, warrior princess. Time to see if your little experiment worked."

It's almost inhuman that she's up and about like she didn't sleep at all. Dean puts that on his list. She gently rouses Sam.

"Sam? Sam?" He stirs and opens a bleary eye. "Good. How do you feel?"

"Like I'm drugged up…"

She lets out a soft laugh. "Okay. Sam? I'm going to take out the bandages on your arm, okay? Let me know if it hurts."

He nods at her but keeps his eyes closed. She motions at Dean to come closer. "You know the drill." She points at the back of her head. Dean complies but a little weary this time.

She works on the bandages like she was a doctor herself. It was almost like a dance. She wipes Sam's arm with a cotton ball dipped in alcohol. She moves a bit to show Dean his brother's supposed injured arm. There were no scars – at all. Dean put the gun down and moves closer to inspect the arm. He lightly slaps Sam's face. "Dude…Dude! You feel weird?"

"Dean…I feel okay…lemme sleep a little bit more…ger-ooffme"

He whips around and looks at Urduja. "What did you do to him?"

"The manananggal uses demonic sanctified coconut oil – langis. I used holy oil to counteract it. The bayabas leaves have healing properties that act as a catalyst and emulsifier, speeding up the healing process. Her claws won't kill nor would it turn the victim. It just makes the flesh perpetually infected."

"The hummana-manana what now?"

Her reply was cut short by a knock on the door. Dave enters the room and was taken aback by the tension that seems to be filling the enclosed space. "May I come in?"

"Yeah Kuya. I was just about to leave anyway." Urduja motioned for the door.

"You did your part, Bunso?" Dave asked moving towards the bed to check on Sam.

"Yes, Kuya. Can I go now?" She said exasperatedly.

Dave laughed. He stepped towards his sister and pulled her into a hug. "You never stopped being my bunso, you know that?" He kissed the top of her head, him being a full head taller than her. "Get something to eat first. Drive slowly – that thing you call transportation is going to kill you before any creature does."

"Kuya…" She squirmed away from his grasp. "Are you done?" She whined.

"Oh, and take him with you." He points at Dean, to which the older Winchester responded to with a shocked look.

"Nah. I'm good here." Dean sat down on the chair next to the bed.

Dave sighed. "Look, you have to understand something. You two are the only ones who can stop that thing before it kills any more pregnant women. Your brother is out of commission for a while Dean, and Urduja, you can't do this alone. So, I suggest you two set aside your differences and make nice. You can go back to hating each other when this job is done."

Dean gave the siblings a defiant look. Sam finally sits up and speaks. "The doc's right, Dean. The faster you guys work together, the faster you kill this thing. I'm not exactly the best person to have in this hunt."

Urduja rolled her eyes. "C'mon kupal. There's mutiny in the room. Breakfast first, killing later. I'm buying – with your money" She points at her brother. "So, let's order the most expensive thing on the menu of Dean and DeLuca"

Dean looks at his brother and against his judgment, grabs his jacket and follows Urduja out the door.

"Children!" Sam and Dave said simultaneously. They shared a laugh and Dave started checking his supposed wounds and his broken foot.

"Well, my sister did a good job on your puncture wounds. Your foot though, will be in that cast for about 6 weeks. You can't stay here though as the hospital staff would question your presence and I don't want to have to pull rank unless it's necessary"

"I understand, completely. My brother and I are staying at a motel nearby."

"That's not what I meant." He smiled at Sam. "You don't have to stay at a motel. Our house is big enough for all of us and then some. You can stay there until everyone is safe."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Why are you helping us? Pardon the suspicion."

Dave raised a hand "No offense taken. It's just a promise we made to our parents. We take care of other hunters if and when we meet one – or two. I'm sure you have a lot of questions and I'll be more than happy to answer them. Let me just finish my rounds and then we'll talk."

"Okay." Dave headed for the door but stopped when Sam called him

"Doc! Dave…"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Dave smiled genuinely. "You're welcome."

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**Translation**

**Bunso – a term of endearment given to the youngest member of the family.**


	4. Chapter 4

Urduja refused to ride the impala, saying it was too "white" for her taste. Dean followed her instead to a Dean and DeLuca a few blocks away from the hospital. In daylight, you could see little nuances about her that darkness never revealed. She was about five foot four, toned but lithe. Her hair was long and straight, going past her shoulders and stopping just before the small of her back. She had heavy blunt bangs that framed her small heart shaped face. Her eyes were brown and almond. She had a cute button nose and a pair of full lips. She wore a black baby tee and black tight jeans that hugged all the right curves. Finally, she had studded black biker boots that had a little heel.

"She's actually a babe. She's just a bitch though." Dean said to himself, watching her go into the shop. He leaves the car and walks in after her. He finds her seated at a corner table, one foot tucked in under her and her face propped up by her hand, chin on palm. She points to a chair in front of her and the black coffee in front of that chair.

"Oh God, yes…" Dean sits and drinks the black ambrosia. "Damn! This shit is good!"

"Yes. My brother insists on certain indulgences and luxuries just because he can afford it." She says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Must be nice to have such _luxuries_" He spat out.

"Don't. Just don't. You don't get to judge my brother." She said.

"I wasn't judging him. I was judging you."

"I never gave you permission to judge me."

"Well clearly you're a wannabe hunter, trying to escape your cushy princess life."

She laughed out loud. "Wow! You're not only an egomaniacal insipid idiot; you're also a chauvinistic misogynistic racist!"

"Could you just speak in English for once? Huh? A little consideration too much for you?"

"That **was **English!"

Their escalating verbal tirade was put to a stop when her phone rang. She flipped her phone open and put the gadget to her ear.

"Yes Kuya…no I haven't although I'm sorely tempted to…But!...yes, I remember…I know!...I'm not five, Kuya… Opo, Kuya…"

She lets out a huff that blows her bangs away from her face. Dean noticed a deep scar on her forehead. She shakes her head and her bangs fall back into place, promptly covering the scar.

"Listen, we may not have met under the most ideal of circumstances but truth be told, we've got to get our act together to save pregnant women out there. So, let's start fresh." She sat up straight and offered her hand out for a shake.

"Hi! My name is Urduja Galliguez. I'm a hunter, been one for almost 10 years now. My brother is Dave Galliguez and he is a doctor who helps us hunters when we need medical attention. What happened to your brother was an accident, but I am apologizing for it anyway. I was rude and I'm sorry."

Dean looked at her hand and then at her. He stretched his own arm and shook hers. "Dean Winchester. My brother Sam and I have been hunters all of our lives." She suddenly pulled her hand away like she was electrocuted.

"Winchester? Like John Winchester?"

"Yeah. Like my father, John Winchester."

"You're John Winchester's son?"

Dean furrowed his brows "Last time I checked, yeah. Why?"

She had tears in her eyes and an indescribable look on her face. "Then, I owe you a genuine apology. I extend to you what I owe your father."

"What do you owe him?"

"My life"

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**Translation**

**Opo – the equivalent of "Yes, sir" or "Yes, Ma'am" in western culture. It's a very polite affirmation or a very respectable "yes".**


	5. Chapter 5

"You want to elaborate on that?"

She shakes her head, as if shaking away the cobwebs that have presented themselves from nowhere.

"Look, Dean. Your father saved me ten years ago from a very evil thing. I owe him my life and by tradition and principle, I extend to you the respect and generosity I give your father."

"You mean gave my father." He said bluntly. She steeled but her eyes started brimming with tears.

"When?"

"A couple of months ago"

"How?"

"Just drop it. I don't want to talk about it."

"How?" she said, a little harder.

"I said drop it." He returned, hard as well.

She took in a huge breath and looked away. She wanted to cry, to be angry and to mourn. The man who saved her was unable to save himself.

"Consider your debt paid. Let's just figure out how to kill that nasty son of a bitch so we can all go back to normal…" He pursed his lips. "Whatever normal is to us"

"It's not like that. This is utang na loob – a life debt. It extends to his descendants. My brother and I are bound to it, as well as our descendants."

"Whatever." He scoffed and took another sip from his coffee cup.

She let out a disbelieving laugh. "Fair enough. I won't explain the intricacies of my culture to someone who obviously does not give a flying fuck. Let's get on to business then." And like it was cued, the waitress came with their food.

Dean grinned. "Let's deal with food business first." He looks at the waitress and gives her the patented Dean grin. "You have any pie?"

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0oO

Dave came back close to lunchtime bearing food for Sam and himself.

"It's hospital cafeteria food but it will do for now." Dave handed a bottle of water to a very grateful Sam. He sat on the chair that Dean previously laid claim to. "Shoot away."

"Well, I guess the first one would be: how did you get involved in hunting?" Sam asked as he opened the plastic container with the salad.

"My sister, Urduja, was a very precocious child. She is…special. Even as a baby, she seemed to be more attuned to the paranormal than her toys. Growing up in the Philippines, she was seen as an oddity and our family was quite embarrassed and was genuinely concerned about her so we moved here to Charlotte, to avoid prying eyes and horrible gossip."

"She's psychic?"

"Not quite. Just more…sensitive than most. She's what we would call in our language, a diwata. She interacts with earthbound creatures, spirits, deities and everything else in between. She always thought it was normal."

"A nymph?'

"Not sure, this is more her area of expertise. She never tells me things that I don't have to know. When we moved here, we all thought that she'd be free, you know? We were under the impression that these things stay in just one location; in one country, but we were wrong.

"Huh." Sam said. "Kinda gives a new definition to the term illegal immigrants."

Dave laughed. "Something like that. These creatures have managed to find her. How? I'm not entirely sure. Ten years ago though, something happened."

"What?"

"A…thing came for her and took her. We thought she would never be found or if we found her, it would just be a body. My parents, God rest their soul, did everything they could to find her. Money wasn't a problem but even that couldn't do anything when people, especially the authorities thought you were nuttier than a Snicker's bar."

"What happened to her?"

Dave sighed. "We don't know. She never talked about it. She says she doesn't want to and that we don't have to know. She came home 4 days later with a man – a hunter. She said he rescued her."

"That's why your family helps hunters."

"It's a life long calling. It's a life debt – to that man and to all those who are like him. My mother died two years ago and my father just last year. They passed this task on to my sister and me."

"Wow." Sam leaned back on the bed. "I don't know what to say"

Dave started cleaning up and put the used containers in the garbage bin. "Don't say anything. Just focus on getting better. I'll have you discharged later and we'll see what my sister and your brother's been up to. Hopefully, they haven't killed themselves yet."

Dave patted Sam on the shoulder. He left the younger Winchester feeling more sanguine about the world.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0O


	6. Chapter 6

Urduja needed to bring him up to speed on the manananggal. He followed her top a very posh gated community and into one of the biggest houses he has ever seen. He parks the car along the driveway and follows her inside.

The house, on the outside looks just like every other house on the street, but once inside, it felt like you walked though a portal to another world. The walls were made of some dark reddish wood. They were adorned with paintings, portraits and crucifixes of different sizes. Tables made of the same material sported photographs in intricate silver frames. It also had small jars made of bluish white porcelain. On the floor, in appropriate corners were wooden statues that looked like thin old men squatting.

He followed her into a study that was about the same size of the dean and DeLuca they were in. The walls were lined with shelves and filled with leather bound books. One wall held a huge painting of a family, judging from the clothes, it was a very old painting. Dean pointed to it "I hope you didn't get this in an estate sale"

"That's my family. My ancestors." She had a wistful look on her face. She turned to him "You do know how to read, right? Because you'll be doing a lot of it."

"You're a smart ass."

"And you, are uncouth" She turned and started taking out books from one of the shelves. She came back to the big desk and set the books down. She opened a huge book and pushed it to Dean.

"A manananggal cannot be considered undead. By day, she's a beautiful woman. The kind that keeps a normal job and the kind that you'd probably hit on. By night, she is a hideous and frightening creature."

"Why does she look like a magic show mistake?"

"Though she sprouts wings, it can only carry so much weight. She has to leave her lower body in order to be mobile."

"That's just gross." Dean turned a light shade of green

She unravels a scroll. "She anoints herself with demonic consecrated oil to be able to transform. Although powerful, her weakness lies in the lower part that she leaves behind."

"Why does she target pregnant women?"

"It's actually a myth that she just targets pregnant women. She can victimize virtually anyone but it's more convenient for her to prey on women in gestation. Their tongue is a tube like siphon with one very sharp tooth that they use to pierce a hole into the victim's body. They release some form of chemical that liquefies the internal organs. They then proceed to suck the victim dry."

Realization dawned on Dean. "Pregnant women have their internal organs squeezed together because of the baby…"

She nodded. "The baby is just collateral damage."

"So, how do we kill this thing?" Dean asked as he leafed through some more pages.

"The killing is not so hard as opposed to that of finding her lower body. They keep it very well hidden and highly protected by their sycophants. _Alamat_ says that we have to find the lower half, sprinkle it with salt, vinegar and raw unmilled rice."

"Sounds like a recipe. The salt and vinegar are easy enough. The unmilled rice grains may be difficult."

"Don't worry about the rice. I've got that covered. Plus, she won't be bothering anyone anytime soon. I put enough bullets in her to put her out of circulation for at least a week. She still needs to heal."

"Alright, not worried then. We can do a recon to see where she might be keeping her lower extremities."

"There is something else you need to know…" She never finished her statement as they were interrupted by the presence of an uniformed butler. Dean's eyebrow went up.

"Ms. Urduja, will you be staying the entire night this time or do I have to start praying the novena again?"

Urduja laughed. "_Manong_ Gilbert, you are such a drama queen! _Puede kang artista_!"

"Well, yes. I would have been such a damn good one too. Your brother just called and informed the staff and me about the arrangements for your guests. Is there anything you might currently need?"

"Nothing in particular, _salamat_. But… you could fill up the _basi_ for me. Please?"

"Urduja! It's one in the afternoon!" Gilbert admonished.

"It's one in the morning in Manila." She smiled. "It's already hours into party time there."

Gilbert faced Dean. "And what can I get you, sir?"

"Uh…a bud light?"

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oO

**Translations:**

**Alamat – Legend. Filipino folklore is filled with it. Each province or region would have their own set of alamats.**

**Manong – In Pangasinanse or Ilokano (two of the 91 languages in the Philippines), Manong means older brother. It's now commonly used to refer to an older man who you aren't acquainted with.**

**Salamat – Thank you**

**Basi – Sugarcane wine. Indigenous to the Northern provinces of the Philippines. Loves it!**

**Puede kang artista – "You can be an actor!" **


	7. Chapter 7

_Flashback – _

_She was bound but not gagged. The ropes around her wrists and legs were unfamiliar. She didn't struggle through her ropes; she didn't even change the speed of her heartbeat. It was as if she was calm, as if this wasn't unusual. She took in a deep breath and rolled her head. She started humming; the song was familiar only to her and to those like her. She stopped after a few bars and suddenly opened her eyes. This time, she couldn't control her heartbeat. Panic was starting to seep in, like a small trickle from a faucet, filling her with dread._

"_Walang darating para sa iyo, Urduja. Walang tutulong" (Nobody's coming for you, Urduja. There's no rescue)_

"_I think you have the wrong person, mister"_

"_At tulad mo na rin sila. Kay bilis mo namang kalimutan kung sino ka at kung saan ka naggaling." (And now, you're just like them. How quickly you have forgotten who you are and where you're from.)_

"_My family will give you money. Just let me go."_

"_Aanhin ko ang kayamanan ng tao? Kinuktya mo ba ako?" (And what use do I have for mortal riches? Are you mocking me?) The voice was graveled low. It had authority that cannot be faked._

"_Please let me go." Tears were starting to form. The fear was overpowering her._

"_Anong kinatatakutan ko, Urduja?" (What are you afraid of, Urduja?)_

_She couldn't hold back anymore. She let the tears fall and started sobbing. "Please…" She whispered._

_The man appeared from the darkness. He had golden brown skin, with arms decorated in old Filipino script. His long hair was tied back with twine. His eyes were dark but bright._

"_You should be afraid of what you're becoming, Urduja. You should be afraid of what you are denying." The man said as he walked closer to her._

_-end flashback-_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She woke up, drenched in sweat, her heart about to pound out of her chest. Figures, she gets a few hours of sleep and she's gifted with a vivid replay of her favorite nightmare. She sits up, settles her breathing and buries her face in her hands. She then peels the covers off her and decides to walk the shivers off.

It has been an eventful day for all of them. Her brother brought Sam home and somehow Dean was able to vocalize his appreciation and apprehension all in the same breath. Sam had to calm him down and she managed to rile him up again.

Dinner was another event. Dean was a perfect parody of Eliza Doolittle. Her brother was highly amused, she was slightly amused but she didn't let it show. They decided that they'll start planning tomorrow seeing that everyone needed rest. Dean couldn't stop throwing jabs and jibes at Gilbert but the British Tagalog speaking butler was enjoying the verbal sparring than Urduja could ever appreciate.

It's only been four hours since then and she's now rudely awakened by that recurring nightmare. Her barefoot steps led her to the pool out back at the sprawling garden.

Technically, it's the middle of November and swimming isn't a highly recommended stress reliever, more so, outdoor swimming at two in the morning. Urduja, however was determined.

She stood by the edge of the pool and surveyed the area. When she felt it was safe, she slipped her nightgown off her shoulders until it lay on her feet, like a puddle. She dove in without making as much as a splash, just like a hot knife would to butter.

She relished how the cold water felt on her skin. It was soothing and liberating. She swam toward the pool's edge and reached out to the grass around the water receptacle. Her fingers grazed the soft, well manicured green and instantly, small white flowers appeared.

"I know who I am. I know what I am. I'm not denying it. I'm not afraid." She said to herself. She waved her hand over and the flowers sank back into the ground.

When she had enough, she got out of the pool and slipped her nightgown on. She pulled her hair to the side and twisted it until the water came out. She walked back in the house.

She was about to turn around the hall to go up to her room when she heard someone walking, albeit attempting to be as silent as possible. She backed up against the wall, waiting to see who it was. She let out a relieved breath when she discovered it was just Sam. She backtracked so she can provide Sam the illusion that she just came in. When Sam saw her, he offered an embarrassed smile. She smiled back.

"I got lost. I was thirsty." Sam explained.

"Yeah, it's easy to get lost in this house. You sure you're supposed to be walking around with that foot?" She pointed at Sam's cast.

"Well, I have to be mobile."

"Here, let me take you to the kitchen. You hungry?"

"A little." Sam then cleared his throat.

"What?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Don't you want to change first?"

She forgot that she was wearing a white nightgown with nothing underneath. The said nightgown was now translucent with the water from her skin. Even in mid-darkness, there wasn't much left to the imagination (well, it kind of fueled certain imaginations)

"Oh." She said without any sign of self consciousness. "It bothers you" It wasn't a question. "Let me change then. Wait here."


	8. Chapter 8

She came back two minutes later, in less revealing clothing. They made their way to the kitchen where she made Sam sit on a stool at the island counter.

"What are you in the mood for? Sweet or salty?"

"Sweet?"

"You have to be sure. No turning back once you've decided."

Sam laughed. "Okay then. Sweet it is."

"Good." She smiled. "Salty would be disastrous"

She pulled out several things from the massive fridge. She put a plate with three strips of something rice like and green in front of Sam. "Ice cream, chocolate sauce or muscovado?"

Sam's brows furrowed. "For what?"

"Toppings of course!" She grinned.

"I'll stick to what I know and say ice cream." Sam said, a bit unsure with what was in front of him.

She put a big scoop of…purple ice cream on the green rice things.

"Um…" Sam put a finger up. "Not to be rude, but what is this?" and he pointed to his plate.

She laughed. It was like bells tinkling. Sam decided right there and then that he liked her laugh and will try to make her do it more often.

"This…" she points "is called suman. This is ice cream."

"I'm pretty sure ice cream isn't supposed to be purple." He made a face.

"Well, ube is. It's taro. Don't knock it 'til you tried it" She put a scoop of ice cream in her suman and took a spoonful and relished it.

"Taro is a root crop." He said as he took a spoonful of the cold snack.

She looked at him incredulously. "Demons, spirits and other dark creatures you handle but frozen root crop you can't?"

"Point taken" He put the food in his mouth. She looked at him, in anticipation. He shrugged and swallowed. "Not bad."

She smiled. Immediately, the room felt warm. The wooden walls seemed to hum a little. Sam straightened up. "You feel that?" As soon as he said it, the room fell silent. He looked at Urduja and she just gave him an innocent look. Same made a mental note to remember that she blushes. Another spoonful of the suman a la mode, he pointed at her tattooed arm.

"What's that mean?"

"It's called Alibata or Baybayin. Old Filipino script. It says Alam ko kung ano ako – I know what I am." She absentmindedly touched her tattoo.

"You said 'what'…it's supposed to be 'who'" he supplied.

"Huh?"

"You said 'what'…"

"Oh yeah. I meant who." She said quickly, realizing her mistake. "Your language is confusing"

They spent the rest of the night talking about the manananggal and life in general. They didn't notice that light was pouring in from the windows. Gilbert found the duo laughing about the time she got her head stuck in the banister.

"Good morning Ms. Urduja, Mr. Sam." He nodded at both of them.

"Magandang Umaga, Manong Gilbert!" she cheered.

"Miss Urduja, it is six thirty. It is time for your..physical regimen."

"Oh shit!" she jumped off the stool and ran out the door, screaming "'tangina!" all the way.

"Physical regimen?" Sam asked as he tried to scrape the remnants of the ube ice cream off his plate with the spoon and into his mouth.

"I see you've been introduced to Barney, the purple ice cream." Gilbert smiled and pointed at the now empty ice cream container. Sam smiled sheepishly. "Well, yes. Miss Urduja trains at 6:30 everyday, or at least whenever she is here. Discipline is important when mastering skills."

"Combat training? Cool."

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "'tis not cool, young sir. 'tis rather painful and frightening. Especially from her."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"They need one of them 'you are here' maps in this place." Dean seethed. "God damn place is a freaking maze! God, I hate rich people!"

He turned a corner and heard some commotion inside a room. He went in to investigate and was surprised to see a huge room set up for combat training. The room's occupants, Urduja and another man didn't notice him come in.

She was concentrated in her task. Her hands were fluidly blocking every punch and attack her assailant was throwing at her. Dean moved in for a closer look. Urduja felt his presence and dropped her guard for a split second. Her opponent now had an opportunity to deliver a solid blow to her face and he did. Urduja staggered two steps back and shook her head. She assumed position and signaled her sparring partner to continue. He came in fast, with a straight punch that Urduja blocked. She then returned the favor, thrusting her palm into his face. She pulled him towards her and grabbed the dagger from his side holster and threw it right at Dean. It missed Dean's ear by about a millimeter. He dropped to the ground and screamed.

"What the fuck?!"

Urduja walked toward him and stood in front of his crouched figure. Her hands were on her waist. "Knocking is a common concept."

"Jesus Xena! You want to stop throwing shit like that around?"

"I've asked you not to call me that name." She said as she yanked the knife from the wall.

He stood up, brushing imaginary dust off his pants. "I changed my mind, seeing you want to injure me as well, Zeee-nuh!"

She just looked at him, dead pan and apathetic. "Let me guess, you got lost?"

"Well, you should think about GPS in this place."

"Do you need assistance?"

'What were you doing?" He ignored Urduja and went straight to the weapons' cache.

"Nothing you would understand." She said, following him.

"Sweetheart, I understand fighting, so don't patronize me." He spat.

"This isn't fighting" She stressed.

"Right. This is a slumber party. When are you waxing Gabrielle there?" He tips his head at her sparring partner.

She let out a disbelieving laugh. "Alright, let me see you try it. Choose a weapon." She challenged.

"I don't fight girls." He smirked.

"Afraid you'll get your face beat up by a chick half your size?" She took two steps towards him.

"I just don't want you to get hurt, princess." But he was already eyeing a huge jungle knife.

"Oh, I won't hold it against you, kupal."

Her hypocorism for him earned snickers from sparring dude. That sealed the deal. "Alright, if you say so." He took the knife and headed for the combat floor. Urduja picked a dark wooden stick, about two and a half feet long and about an inch in diameter.

"That's it?" Dean asked.

"Shut up and bring it. Orasan mo, Miguel!" She says the last part to her sparring partner. Miguel picks a stopwatch from the table. She positions herself two feet from Dean. Her right hand holds the stick, pointed to the ground. She smiles evilly at Dean and signals Miguel to start the timer.

Dean lunges at her, making a huge slashing action. She stepped to the side to avoid it and taps Dean on the back with her stick. Dean recovers and turns around to thrust the knife at her. She spins to her left, avoiding the sharpened steel and taps the back of his head. He turns and tries to slash at her again but she avoids the attack and manages to tap his wrist, forcing him to drop the knife. In one fell swoop, she grabs his wrist, twists it behind him, positions herself at his back, forces him down on his knees and taps his head with the stick.

"Time!" She shouted.

"32 seconds!" Miguel shouts back.

"I wasn't ready!" Dean grunted, struggling against her. She let him go and stepped back. The only white man in the room put his game face on.

"Game on."

Urduja smiled.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**Translations**

**Muscovado – Raw milled brown sugar. It's almost powder like.**

**Suman – Sticky rice wrapped in coconut leaves and then steamed. It usually is sweet. Personally, I like mine with mangoes, a little cream and a little condensed milk  
**

**Magandang Umaga – Good Morning**

'**Tangina – A contracted "Putangina". A favorite Filipino curse word. Literally translated, it means "Mother is a whore." Tangina is now used with the context that is similar to SOB.**

**Orasan mo – Time it.**


	9. Chapter 9

An hour later, Sam was greeted by a tired and battered Dean in the library.

"What happened to you, Dean?"

Urduja stepped in the room and nonchalantly supplied the answer.

"He got his ass kicked by a chick with a stick."

"I wasn't ready!" Dean shouted.

"So you said, five times in a row." Urduja deadpanned.

Dean threw a glare at Urduja and shifted topics. "So, this thing, how do we find it?"

"They usually hide their lower bodies inside hollow balite trees, protected by a demonic spell. The tree itself is protected by the manananggal's henchmen. They could be lower level aswangs or nunos." Urduja pulled some books from the shelf to give to Sam.

"It may be easier to look for trees big enough to keep half a body than to find a beautiful woman, then again, Dean might have more luck with that. Anyway, I searched for botanical gardens or nurseries within the area and found four that specializes on tropical trees." Sam leafed through his notebook and tore a page out. Dean took it and skimmed through the information.

"We have to get through the nuno and the aswang first. Aswangs are easy enough. Deal witht hem the same way you would deal with a vampire. The nuno is quite tricky." She handed a book to Dean where a picture of a dwarf like creature was.

"This little dude is dangerous? It's a freaking munchkin!"

"Haven't I taught you about underestimating size enough?" Urduja smiled. Dean made a face. "The power of the nuno lies in its punso or earth mound. We destroy the punso, he's as vulnerable as a…munchkin."

"If legends are true, then these protectors won't appear until the manananggal is ready to fly the night." Sam stated.

"And we can't kill the manananggal until she transforms." She continued.

"Why is that?" The older Winchester quizzed.

"Because she's human, Dean."

"Huh. Okay, good point bro."

"Let's go see about these trees then." Urduja said as she left the room.

Dean turned to his brother. "What about her? Why can't I kill her?"

Sam rolled his eyes and went back to reading.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They posed as newlyweds looking for a landscape artist for their new house. They wanted to pick out the plants themselves ergo the trip to nurseries.

"I don't understand why we couldn't take my car." Dean whispered angrily.

"Because it screams 'redneck' not rich handsome bastard." She whispered back. "The Benz says the latter."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Did you just insult and compliment me in one sentence?"

He didn't get an answer as the nursery's owner came to greet them. "Mr. and Mrs. Kossoff! I'm Stanley Morton, proprietor of this nursery. I understand you're looking for a supplier for your garden and foliage needs."

"Yes, Paul here is quite particular about what goes in the garden." Urduja said as she snuggled against Dean."

"Oh yes. We're particular about trees – something big enough for the kids to climb and possibly build a tree house on." Dean supplied, pulling Urduja close.

"Well, we have a lot of choices for trees – oak, maple, walnut…"

"We're looking for something very specific. Something Asian…" Urduja cut in.

"We do have three types of trees here from the tropics. We have Acacia, Narra and Balite."

Urduja and Dean looked at each other. Bingo. Dean turned to the man. "I think we like the last one."

The man smiled, eager to make a sale. "This way then." He ushered them into the massive expanse of trees and plants. As they passed the different botanical wonders, Urduja saw a huge balite tree at the far end of the location.

"Excuse me, Mr. Morton? We would like that tree right there." She points.

Mr. Morton takes a look at the referenced tree and shakes his head and smiles. "I do apologize but that tree is not for sale. My wife loves that tree and brought that in from her country. She'll kill me if I sell it."

"Your wife is Filipina too?" Dean fished.

"Oh yes. She's quite a handful but she's sweet and takes good care of me."

"Do we get the honor of meeting her? I haven't met a lot of Filipinos since we got here." Urduja smiled sweetly.

"She's away to visit her mother in L.A. but she'll be back in two days. Maybe we can set something up." Mr. Morton said and clapped his hands. "Let's see about your trees then."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As soon as they got in the car, Dean called Sam.

"Sammy! We got her!"

"Dean. We need to talk about something."

"Okay. What's up?"

"Just…later, okay? Get here."

"Is it something I should worry about?" Dean's shoulders tensed.

"No, I don't think so."

"Alright, we're on our way back. Talk to you later."

Sam put the phone on the table, next to his father's journal. The entry was clear; written in block letters" URDUJA AND DAKILA ARE NOT TO BE HARMED.

He stared at the painting on the wall and focused on the face of the woman. Why he didn't see it before was a wonder.


	10. Chapter 10

_She stepped into the tattoo parlor for her appointment. She handed the design and asked the artist to ink her arm, from shoulder to her wrist. Her brother was there to make sure she didn't get into trouble. He was pacing._

"_Kapatid, hindi ito kasiguraduhang hindi ka matatagpuan ni Tadaklan." (Sister, this isn't a guarantee that Tadaklan won't find you)_

"_Hindi niya ako matatagpuan hangga't hindi ako nasisilayan ng kanyang mga alipores." (He won't find me unless his minions see me and tell him)_

"_Ngunit gaano ka kasiguro na wala nga siyang mga tauhan dito?" (How sure are you that he doesn't have any people here?)_

"_It's too American for him to be here. He has his pride." She smiled._

_Her brother smiled back and touched her bald head. Even with that huge scar, she was still beautiful. "Maganda ka pa rin, Bunso." (You're still beautiful, young one)_

"_Ikaw lang ang nagsasabi niyan, Kuya Dakila." (You're the only one who thinks so, Kuya Dakila)_

_0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

The drive back paved the way for awkward silence. Dean cleared his throat.

"So, what's the story behind the scar?"

She looked at her hand and the small scar it sported. "Cooking accident"

"What about the one on your head?" He glanced at her.

"I killed a man who asked too many questions."

Dean grunted. "Would it kill you to be civil at least?"

She looked at him. "I could ask you the same question."

"Look, the touchy-feeling Dr. Phil crap is Sam's thing. I give it to people straight. I just thought you're the kind of chick that can handle that."

She gave Dean a genuine smile. "Well then, it looks like we have more in common that we care to admit."

"You know, you should smile more. Makes you less scary" and he gave her the patented _Dean Winchester_ _drop your panties _grin.

"Did you just compliment and insult me in one sentence?"

"Just returning the favor, Xena"

"There might be hope yet for us, Kupal"

He fiddled with the radio dial. "Let's listen to some real music because your music's crap."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Honey! We're home!" Dean shouts as he walked in the door. Gilbert takes Urduja's coat and motions for Dean to give his up. "Not on the first date." He playfully slaps Gilbert on the shoulder.

"Mister Sam is in the den and is awaiting your return."

"Salamat, Manong Gilbert." Urduja said as she made her way to the den.

Sam, for once, was just resting and reading for the pure pleasure of it. Dean planted himself next to his brother and patted his leg.

"So, we found her tree. It's unfortunate that she wasn't there though. We do have to come back to scope the area."

"Her husband says she's in L.A. with her mother. I doubt that she's there though. My money's on the theory that she's just here trying to heal." Urduja finished.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Sammy?"

Sam looked at Urduja and then back at Dean. "It's nothing…" he shrugged.

Dean leaned towards him and whispered "You want to talk about it alone?"

Sam shook his head. "No, no. I just had a bad feeling a while ago. I guess I thought you were in trouble."

Dean leaned back to look at his brother and raised both brows. "Bad feeling? I swear Sam, you're such a girl." He stood up. "I'm going to get a beer. Want a Shirley Temple, Samantha?" He cackled as he left the room.

Urduja stayed and stood there, staring at Sam. The man was trying to avoid any conversation, at least until he knew how to broach the topic.

"Are you conflicted with what you've discovered, Sam?" She asked. She knew that he had found out.

"My father said, well…he wrote that you and your brother shouldn't be harmed."

"That does not answer my question."

Sam put his book down and looked at her. "I just… I just want answers. I know that I can trust you and your brother. My father trusted you. I just want he entire story." He sighed.

She took a seat next to him. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything"

"I cannot tell you everything. It would take us another five hindred years. I will tell you what you need and want to know."

"Are you the woman in the painting? In the library?"

"Yes." She stood and went to stay by the window.

"Who was that man?"

"My husband. My third to be precise. And he was my last."

"I don't understand. Are you immortal?"

"I'm not mortal, that's saying the least."

A realization dawned on Sam. "You said 'what' last night in the kitchen. You said you knew what you are…"

She took a deep breath and began telling Sam the truth. She told him about Urduja and Dakila, the royal heirs to the kingdom of Pangasinan. She told him of Urduja, the warrior princess that is a diwata and of Dakila, who is an encanto. She told him that five hundred years ago, a god by the name of Tadaklan wanted her to be his bride because of the power she possessed and of how Tadaklan can use her power to rule the entire archipelago. She spoke in urgent and emotional tones of how Tadaklan murdered her parents while they slept. She kept her voice soft but controlled when she narrated how she and Dakila escaped the islands and tried to live here in the land of white skinned savages. She broke a small smile while telling Sam about how they tried to adapt and how they moved from state to state so no one would notice that they weren't exactly getting older. Then, she stopped talking, as if gathering enough courage before she said what happened next. It's probably one of those human traits that she has acquired.

"Tadaklan found me ten years ago. He took me and tried to force me to go back. He had already killed so many people before he found me and I couldn't bear to be an instrument to more deaths.

Your father had been tracking Tadaklan since he first claimed a life in your country. I am grateful that he did, otherwise he wouldn't have found me. He discovered that Tadaklan, like my brother and I, can be killed with a knife made of kamagong wood. He was almost successful but Tadaklan escaped.

He later on found out about what we are and even with that knowledge, he didn't kill us nor did he attempt to. He promised me that he'll protect us, from Tadaklan and from other hunters. I promised him a life debt – that so long as my brother and I live, we will extend to him and his descendants all that they need."

Sam was silent through all this. He knew it was hard for Urduja to tell her story. He also knew diwatas never age beyond that of the façade of a 13 year old. She and her brother looked somewhere between 23 to 28 years old.

"Why do you look older? Shouldn't you be 13 or at least look like it?"

She smiled bitterly. "Love. Love has converted me. It's like religion for atheists." She laughed mirthlessly "I fell in love with mortals. These men knew what I was and I loved them more for it. But they were mortal. I gave them a bit of my essence, thereby aging me but prolonged their lives. That was, until they begged me to let them die. They felt that they were on this earth enough and they were tired. I let them."

"What about Dakila?"

"When Tadaklan found me, he shaved my hair, beat me and cut my face. Kuya Dakila healed me, giving me his essence to make me better." She lifted her bangs to show Sam the scar on her forehead. "I asked to keep this to remind me of what had happened."

Sam tried to walk towards her. When he reached her, he touched her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "I'm so sorry, Urduja"

"Don't be. I'm not." She smiled but her eyes showed the opposite.

"Still. I appreciate you telling me this."

"Well, Sam Winchester, youngest son of my rescuer, I hide nothing from you. For now, I would have to leave you be while I retire to my quarters for a rest." She smiled her sad smile again. She held his hand and squeezed it, just enough o let him know he didn't cross any lines and that they were okay. He smiled back and kept his eyes on her even as she left the room.


	11. Chapter 11

As soon as she reached the door, she made a sharp turn to the right, coming face to face with Dean.

"I knew you were there, Dean. I hope you heard everything because I don't want to have to go through all of that twice in a day."

His face was hard and his jaw was twitching.

"I suggest we take this outburst where your brother can't hear." She walked away from him and he was in hot pursuit.

"What do you need us for then? Apparently, you can take this creature down without our help!" He seethed.

"No, I can't. Believe it or not, I need your help." She said, still walking.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her to face him. "Well, I don't so you'd better make me believe or else we're out of here."

She grabbed his wrist and pried his grip from her arm. "You have that privilege; after all, it is I that owe you."

He throws his hands in the air. "You give Sam the straight answers while you throw philosophical shit at me?"

She points are her tattooed arm. "This is a spell that throws Tadaklan off my trail. It only works if his creatures don't see me. If they do, they are bound to tell him. That manananggal saw me, Dean. Where do you think she's at, healing from her gunshot wounds?"

He was taken aback. He didn't realize the gravity of the situation.

"I need you there, Dean. I need you to finish the job if in case I couldn't."

"I can take the winged bitch."

"That's not what I meant. If I couldn't kill Tadaklan, you have to kill me."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They pretty much avoided each other for the rest of the day. Dean walked in the kitchen to get something to eat when he saw her busy with cooking.

"You cook? Couldn't you just make food magically appear?"

"I'm a diwata, not a magician. You need Harry Potter for that."

"Where's the chef?" He surveyed the place.

"It's his night off." Chop. Slice. Cut.

"Need help?" There's the best attempt Dean could muster to break the tension.

She looked at him and handed him a big wooded spoon. "You know how to stir?"

"I think I can recall how to." He took the spoon and positioned himself in front of a pot and started stirring.

The only sound in the room was the chopping sounds she was making. He glanced at her and cleared his throat.

'Hey, can I ask you something?"

No response.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

She stopped chopping and looked at him. He looked like a hurt little boy rather than a seasoned hunter.

"I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me."

"I don't, okay? It's just…"

"Just what?"

"Nothing." Chop, chop, chop.

"See! You do hate me! I mean, why else would you give me mixed signals?"

"Mixed signals?"

"Yeah! I know you check me out when I'm not looking. You love to pick on me to get my attention and you beat me up that time just so you can touch me."

She laughed and Dean thought he heard bells tinkling.

"What are you? Delusional? This isn't Mrs. Smith's Nursery class."

"And… you snuggled me this morning, at the nursery." He touched his nose.

"That was for the cover, you moron."

"Yeah? Well, your hand was pretty much travelling south. If you wanted to touch my ass, all you had to do was ask." He smirked.

She grinned and stepped closer to him. "If I wanted to touch your ass, I didn't need to go south side. All I had to do was touch this…" and she reached over to cup Dean's face with her hands.

Her hands felt deliciously warm. Dean was initially surprised by the contact, but a certain warmth coursed through his body and he stared at her.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her into a deep kiss. He was surprised a second time when she started kissed him back. He felt an unexplainable rush, like energy that was filling him up from his toes to his head. Her face was pressed so close to his that he can't see her imperfections but could taste them. He felt a buzz in his head, engulfing his entire being as if the entire room was humming.

He can stay in this feeling forever.


	12. Chapter 12

When they broke the kiss, reality settled in Dean's head. He got "Shit, shit, shit" in a loop in his head. When he finally opened his eyes, Urduja was looking at him without any emotion on her face. He cocked his head and raised his eyebrow. "I usually have a better reaction from girls after I kiss them."

"Did you want me to swoon or something? I'm a little unclear about the protocol."

Dean broke into a cocky grin. "Maybe I should do that again, just to test the theory."

Just as he was about to capture her lips with his own, a cough from the door broke his concentration. Turning around, he saw Dakila watching them. Suddenly, the 'shit,shit,shit' loop in his head escalated to the all important notch of 'fuck,fuck,fuck'.

"I would like to speak with my sister."

"Dave…it's…I was the…"

Dakila raised his hand to placate the obviously flustered Winchester. "I'm sure you'll explain he technicalities and intricacies of exchanging body fluids orally much better when you have your vocabulary back." Dave smiled. "For now, I'd like to speak with Urduja."

For once in his life, Dean had the sense to be embarrassed. As soon as Dean left the room, Urduja turned her attention to the boiling pot.

"What was that?" Dakila asked quietly but with a tinge of anger.

"A momentary lapse of judgment, a moment of loneliness, a kiss between two consenting adults – take your pick."

"Urduja!" The older diwata bit out harshely.

"_Ano pa ang gusto mong malaman kuya?_(**What else do you want to know?**) I kissed him, that's it. It won't happen again."

"That's now what I fear."

"Then what?"

The air around them sparked with electricity.

"He doesn't deserve to be hurt, Urduja. He's been through too much." Dakila's voice softened.

"He needs to be pushed. He needs an incentive to finish the job. If anything, John Winchester has ingrained that in him." She breathed slowly, as if she was convincing herself more than she was convincing her brother.

"You don't deserve to be hurt again. You've been through enough." Dakila reached to his sister, gently holding her shoulder.

She turns around, tears threatening to fall and softly, she said. "It ends soon. Nobody needs to go through anything else anymore."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Dinner was all kinds of awkward. Nobody spoke and everybody avoided everybody else's eyes. Dakila finally broke the ice.

"I have the night shift in the ER tonight. I'll be at the hospital for the next two days. Dr. Stevenson finally took his wife on that vacation in Hawaii."

-silence-

"Is this a party or a mosaic?"

Urduja scoffed. "Of course you quote Hades from Hercules. I don't know what's creepier; that it's Hades or that you watch Disney movies"

"He could sing like the Muses, which is quite closer to home for him." Sam piped in, eyes twinkling.

"Not sure about he Muses. I'm pretty sure they're closer cousins to Tinkerbell." Dean mused.

"Are you calling us tiny?" Urduja challenged.

"No, you're pocket sized for our convenience." The older Winchester grinned.

"If you start singing 'Reflections', I'll gut you." Urduja pointed her dinner knife at Dean.

"Please, Mulan is way more of a lady than you are."

"Yeah, Dean." Sam interjected. "And you're Prince Charming"

"Nah, man." Dean smirked. "I'm Lightning McQueen. Ka-chow!"

Dakila laughed and stood up. "I've done my job here. Time to do my real job."

"_Kuya…_" Urduja held his hand. She looked at him and all of a sudden, she looked like she was a newborn again. Dakila bent forward to kiss the top of her head. "_Wag kang mangamba, bunso. Hindi pa tayo nalilimutan ni Bathala._" (**Don't worry, young one. Bathala hasn't forgotten us**)

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Notes:

I'm so sorry. I know I've not written in a long time. I had a serious case of writer's block and real life kind of threw me in a loop. I'm hoping to finish this real soon as I fear it will haunt me!


	13. Chapter 13

Dakila liked driving. It was so foreign to him but he likes it nonetheless. Sometimes though, he misses the feel of having to be weightless – the feel of flying or flowing through the beautiful clear blue waters of his home. Home. There are times that he doesn't know where that is. He'll probably never admit it but he longs for the sea; the salt smell that clears his lungs. He wants to feel the power of the earth coming to him from his feet to his fingertips. He misses bayanihan – the way a community watches out for one another. It's cold here – too cold. People don't care about anyone else unless they can get something from it. He misses the piyestas, the rondalla playing, the lechon, the laughter and the general feeling that even in the greatest of all adversities; they know they have each other as a community – as a family. Right now, his only home and his only family is Urduja. He's afraid that even that would be taken from him. He closes his eyes for a second to rub at it when the car suddenly hit something. Dakila braced himself and slammed on the brakes. The Mercedes spun around and screeched to a halt. He quickly assessed the situation, got out of the car to investigate the damage and to see what or who he hit.

There was nothing on the road. The dark road showed no evidence or promise but it did give Dakila that one feeling he never wants to feel: Fear. He quickly retreated to go back to the car, as calmly as possible.

"_Alam mo ba kung gaano katagal kong hinintay ang pagkakataong into, Dakila?_" (**Do you know how long I've waited for this opportunity, Dakila?**)

Dakila didn't have to turn around to know who that voice belonged to.

"_At narito na ang pagkakataon mo, Tadaklan. Ano pang hinihintay mo? Tapusin mo na ako_." (**And here is your chance, Tadaklan. What are you waiting for then? Kill me.**)

Tadaklan let out an amused but cruel laugh. "_Hindi ikaw ang pakay ko. Ikaw ang susi sa tagumpay ko. Ikaw ang magdadala kay Urduja sa akin._" (**You're not what I want. You are the key to my victory though. You will bring Urduja to me**.)

It was then that everything turned black.

0o0o0o0o0o0

They were in the library when Urduja suddenly went rigid.

"What?" Dean was suddenly by her side.

"Kuya. He has kuya"

"Where?" Dean was already cataloguing the arsenal in the Impala's trunk.

"We'll find out soon. Get your stuff. Let me get ready and we're leaving in three minutes." She turns to Sam." You need to tell Gilbert to prepare the pyre. Stay here and arm yourselves."

"Urduja…"

"Make sure you have a _kamagong _knife. You'll find one in the war room."

"Urduja!" but she was already gone. Somehow, Sam fears that this is the last time he'll see her.

0o0o0o0o0o0

In two and a half minutes, Urduja and Dean were burning rubber. It didn't take them long to see Dakila's car on the road, front fender bent and lights broken.

"Sulfur." Dean said as he sniffed the air.

"And coconut, and fire." Urduja supplied. It was then that she took off her coat, revealing her arms. She took a small silver knife from her hip and quickly, even before Dean could understand what was going on, slashed her tattooed arm, from shoulder to elbow.

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

"Bringing him to me. Your job is to make sure my brother is safe, do you understand?"

"Yeah, sure. But let's keep the self mutilation to a minimum, okay?"

Urduja faced Dean and held his face. "I'm sorry, Dean." She kissed him, deep and full of emotion. While Dean was distracted with the kiss, Urduja cut his palm with the same knife that cut her.

"Ow! What the fuck?! When I said keep the self mutilation to a minimum, I didn't mean project that mutilation to me!"

Urduja didn't even acknowledge Dean's rant. She cut her palm as well and put it over Dean's.

"_Bathala, inaalay ko ang natitirang buhay ko sa nilalang na ito. Ang puso ko ay pagaari niya. Ang dugo ko ay dumadaloy sa mga ugat niya. Ang bantay niya ay ang kapangyarihan mo. Ang tanod niya ay ang pagibig ko. Sa ngalan mo, Bathala, lahat ng ito'y mapatotoo_" (**Bathala, I offer my remaining life force to this human. My heart now belongs to him. My blood runs through his veins. His protection is your power, his sentinel is my love. In your name, Bathala, make it true – so mote it be**)

Their hands had this yellow glow and it felt warm – too warm for a place like this. Dean has never been to any place tropical or close to it this was how he imagined it would be.

"What…was that?" Dean blinked.

"Protection."

"Sweetheart, we could've just used Trojans." Dean smirked.

"I knew I could count on your crudeness and lack of brevity to ruin the moment."

Dean's retort never made it out his mouth as Urduja was suddenly ripped from his personal space to go flying through the air, arms and legs flailing ungracefully.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean ran after her and barely caught her when she was being thrown down by the invisible force. Dean braced them both so they could stand up. Urduja was livid.

"_Duwag! Magpakita ka!_" (**Coward! Show yourself!**)

"_Kung yan ang nais mo…_" (**If that's what you want.**) The voice was low and menacing. It had a tone of gloating in it as well. "_Kay ganda mo ngayon Urduja. Muntik ko nang malimutang may mga nagawa ako sa iyo noon._" (**You're looking beautiful, Urduja. I almost forgot I played with you before**) Tadaklan appeared magically from the darkness.

"N_asaan ang kapatid ko?_" (**Where is my brother?**)

"_At bakit ko sasabihin sa iyo ang kinaroroonan niya?_" (**And why would I tell you where he is?**)

"Because I'll kill you before this night is over whether or not you tell me. But tell me where my brother is and I'll show you some mercy."

"Oh thank god! I thought I'd have to call a translator because I was starting to feel left out."

Tadaklan looked at Dean and sneered. "_Ito ba ang pinagmamalaki mo, Urduja? Ito ba ang nilalang mo?_" (**Is this your new toy, Urduja? Is this your glorified human?**)

"You can't touch him." She smiled victoriously.

"_At sino ang may sabi?_"(**Says who?**) Tadaklan stepped closer to Dean. The older Winchester gripped the handle of his gun from behind him, taking it from the waistband of his pants. Tadaklan drew his hand and reached for Dean. Both men were rightfully surprised when a faint green wall materialized between the demi-god and the hunter.

"_Anong ginawa mo?_"

"What did you do?"

It's funny to hear the same thing in two different languages in stereo.

"You can't touch him." She breathed out.

Tadaklan's façade suddenly changed. In his fury, he threw fire bolts at the protective wall in front of Dean. In a flash, he was in front of Urduja, his hand around her neck and the other, shaped into a fist, woven into her hair.

"_Maaring pinangangalagaan mo siya, ngunit, ang sabihin nito'y, mahina ka na. Sino ang magtatanggol sa iyo ngayon?_" (**You may have protected him but that means you gave everything up and now you're weak. Who's going to protect you now?**) He grit his teeth and growled in her ear.

"Hey!" Dean fired at Tadaklan. The bullets merely went through.

"_Nasaan…si…Dakila…?_" Urduja gasped, while struggling against the demi-god. "Let him go and I'll give you want you want. I'll give you my blood, my soul."

"_Sasairin ko ang bawat patak ng dugong nananalaytay sa katawan mo. Aanihin ko ang bawat hibla ng salamangka sa kaluluwa mo. Sa wakas, akin na ang minimithi kong tagumpay!_" (**I will drain you of every drop of blood you have in this body. I will harvest every fiber of magic from your soul. I will have my victory!**)

"Give me my brother and I'll give you everything. You can't get anything without my consent."

Tadaklan considered it for a moment. He bared his teeth and waved his hand to let Dakila appear. The older diwata immediately fell to his knees. "Udruja! Don't!"

She refused to look at her brother, instead, focusing on Dean. "You have one job, Dean…"

Dean was torn. Dakila was frantic and Tadaklan was beyond excited. The demi-god gripped Urduja's neck tight and promptly snapped it.

"NOOOO!!!!"

It felt like it was in slow motion. Tadaklan had his other hand above Urduja's chest, magic from his palm forced her chest to open, all the blood spilling out and absorbed by the ground. Green light was being siphoned from her chest to the demi-god's palm. Urduja's hand twitched, a muscle spasm prominent during early death and a small knife fell from her hand – a wooden knife he knew to be of importance. He skidded and slid to take the knife, turned and got to his feet as quickly to plunge the knife into Tadaklan's chest.

Tadaklan looked at the knife on his chest and moved his gaze to Dean. "_Wala kang kapangyarihan para patayin ako, mortal._" (**You don't have the power to kill me, mortal.**) He pulled the knife from his chest and dropped it. "_Proteksyon lang ang inalay niya para sa iyo_" (**She only gave you protection**)

"Tadaklan!" The demi-god turned to the direction of the voice that said his name. He was promptly rewarded with another stab to the chest, but this time, he was stepping back and sputtering.

"_Maaring wala siyang kapangyarihan para tapusin ka, ngunit ako…ako, meron"_ (**He may not have the power to kill you but I do…I do…**)

Tadaklan chuckled "_Sa wakas. Ang maamong tupa ay natutong lumaban at pumatay._" (**At last, the cowardly sheep has learned to fight and kill**)

"_Kaawaan ka sana ni Bathala._" (**May Bathala have mercy on you**)

Smoke. There was smoke everywhere. The stench of sulfur burned Dean's eyes and throat. Still, he forged on to Urduja's side, covering her with his body, temporarily forgetting that she doesn't need to be protected now, not anymore.

0o0o0o0o0

**Technically, we don't have any gender for siblings, as is the issue with the Filipino language. Our pronouns usually aren't gender specific. When we mean "kapatid" it could mean both brother or sister. The direct translation would be sibling.**


End file.
